Bellingham Athletic Club

Core

Our Fitness Director, Mike Locke, demonstrates how to do core exercises at home.

Prone Airplanes

Lie on the floor on your abdomen with your arms at 45 degrees at your side with palms down. Place your nose on the floor with your legs straight back. Perform the Airplane motion by lifting your nose, chest, shoulders, and arms off the floor. As you reach the top of your range of motion rotate your thumbs back toward your glutes. You should look like an Airplane with your wings swept back. Hold and then return to the floor rotating the thumbs back, placing the palms on the floor along with your chest, shoulders, and nose.

Alternating Supermans

Lie down on the floor on your abdomen with your arms extended forward and your legs back. Your nose should be on the floor aligning your body from head to toe. Begin the motion by pressing down into the floor with your right arm and left leg as you lift your left arm, right leg, head, shoulders, and chest off the floor. Pause and return back to the floor and repeat the same motion on the other side. It is important to maintain the line of the body as you lift off the floor. Leg should be straight with the toe pointed and the arm is extended with the thumb up.

Dumbbell Split Stance

Pick up a dumbbell and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a step forward with your left leg into a split stance position. Maintain the shoulder-width distance between both feet. Grasp the dumbbell with both hands at your right hip. Slightly flex your knees as you lift the dumbbell up diagonally across the body toward your left shoulder. Rotating your torso from right to left. Perform for the prescribed number of reps and then repeat on the opposite side.

Kettlebell Lift-Up Split Stance

Pick up a dumbbell and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a step forward with your left leg into a split stance position. Maintain the shoulder-width distance between both feet. Grasp the kettlebell with both hands at your right hip. Slightly flex your knees as you lift the kettlebell up diagonally across the body toward your left shoulder. Rotating your torso from right to left. Perform for the prescribed number of reps and then repeat on the opposite side.

Stability Ball Hip Thrust

Sit down on a stability ball with your feet about hip-width apart. Roll forward so that your hips are off the floor so that the only thing on the ball is your head and shoulders. Your body should form a tabletop. Slowly drop your hips toward the floor bending only at the hips. Press through the floor with both feet as you squeeze the glutes extending the hips back up into a tabletop position. For added intensity, you may add a weighted object on to the hips (barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine ball, sandbag, or weight plate).

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Stability Ball Lateral T Roll

Sit down on a stability ball with your feet about hip-width apart. Roll forward so that your hips are off the floor so that the only thing on the ball is your head and shoulders. Your body should form a tabletop. Extend your arms straight out from your sides forming a “T”. Slowly roll to your left while maintaining the tabletop position. Your left shoulder will come off the ball but try to maintain position. Roll back the other direction to the right. Repeat back and forth for the prescribed number of reps or time.

Stability Ball Thoracic Rotations

Sit down on a stability ball with your feet about hip-width apart. Roll forward so that your hips are off the floor so that the only thing on the ball is your head and shoulders. Your body should form a tabletop. Extend both arms above your chest with your palms together. Be the motion by rotating your shoulders and arms to the left while maintaining the tabletop position. Reverse directions back to start and then rotate the shoulders and arms to the right. Repeat back and forth for the prescribed number of reps or time.